The increasing reliance on communication networks to transmit more complex data, such as voice and video traffic, is causing a very high demand for bandwidth. To resolve this demand for bandwidth, communication networks are relying more upon optical fibers to transmit this complex data. Conventional communication architectures that employ coaxial cables are slowly being replaced with communication networks that comprise only fiber optic cables. One advantage that optical fibers have over coaxial cables is that a much greater amount of information can be carried on an optical fiber.
This need for increased data transfer rates is fueled by the various types of applications being supported by both optical network architectures and the computers that are connected to them. Applications requiring increased bandwidth and data transfer rates include scientific modeling, engineering, publications, medical data transfer, data warehousing, network back-up applications, desktop video conferencing, and interactive whiteboarding.
Many of these applications require the transmission of large files over a network. File sizes can include hundreds of megabytes to gigabytes. Scientific applications demand ultra-high bandwidth networks to communicate three dimensional visualizations of complex objects ranging from chemical structures to engineering drawings. Magazines, brochures and other complex, full-color publications prepared on desktop computers employ optical networks to transmit data directly to digital-input printing facilities.
Many medical facilities are transmitting complex images over local area networks and wide area networks, enabling the sharing of expensive equipment in specialized medical expertise. Engineers are using electronic and mechanical design automation tools to work interactively and distributed development teams, sharing files in the hundreds of gigabytes. Data warehouses may comprise gigabytes or terabytes of data distributed over hundreds of platforms and accessed by thousands of users, and must be updated regularly to provide users near-real time data for critical business reports and analysis.
To address the enormous bandwidth concerns of the aforementioned applications, point to multipoint optical networks architectures have been contemplated. With such optical network architectures, data transfer upstream from the multipoints to the point often requires the use of predetermined timing schemes, such as time division multiple access (TDMA).
Under the predetermined timing scheme of TDMA, multiple data sources must start and stop transmitting data rather quickly during a predefined interval. With conventional optical transmitters, a certain amount of time within any TDMA scheme must be allocated to allow an optical transmitter to power up to an operating level for data transmission and then to power down at the end of a data transmission. Further, additional time must be allocated in any TDMA scheme for allowing an optical receiver to adjust itself when receiving different signals from optical transmitters that may have different properties (such as signal strength, noise, and other factors).
This allocation of transition times within any TDMA timing scheme decreases efficiency of data transfer, due to reduction of the rate at which data is transferred from multipoints to a single point in an upstream direction. The aforementioned problems are linked to the hardware supporting the optical communications. This hardware is needed to support a very popular and conventional broadband networking standard referred to as the synchronous optical network (SONET). A standard similar to SONET is referred to as the synchronous digital hierarchy (SDH) outside of the United States.
The majority of optical transmitters and receivers are designed to propagate data that is formatted according to the SONET transmission standard. One of the problems associated with the SONET transmission standard that accentuates or magnifies the limitations of current conventional optical transmitters and receivers is that the minimum frequency content of data formatted according to the SONET standard can extend to very close to zero by virtue of the SONET standard permitting the transmission of up to 72 or more bits of the same type (the 1 or 0).
In other words, the SONET transmission standard could potentially format data such that a string of 72 or more bits could be propagated that does not have a change in state. Such a transmission state of identical or similar bits requires the optical transmitters and the optical receivers to be designed at very low frequencies compared to or relative to other network protocols.
Another problem and drawback of conventional optical transmitters and optical receivers is that such equipment can have costs that approach (at the time of the writing of this text) of upward of hundreds of thousands of dollars. Accordingly, in light of the problems identified above with respect to conventional network protocols and conventional optical equipment, there is a need in the art for a method and system for efficient propagation of data and broadcast signals over an optical network. There is a need in the art for a method and system that can increase the speed in which optical transmitters and optical receivers can handle data in an upstream direction relative to a subscriber and a data service hub. Specifically, a need exists in the art for a method and system that can increase the speed at which data is transmitted from multiple points to a single point, by reducing wasted time spent switching transmission from one point to another.
A further need exists in the art for optical receivers that have increased speed to switch from receiving signals from one optical transmitter to another optical transmitter. And lastly, there is a need in the art to provide optical network equipment that can support an optical network protocol at a substantially reduced cost compared to the equipment needed to operate conventional network protocols such as SONET.